Road to ANBU
by Kurenai Tenshi
Summary: Becoming an ANBU is, of course, considered by Shikamaru as something very troublesome. But, why does he join it, anyway?


**Disclaimer: Naruto (the characters & places' name, etc.) definitely doesn't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them to channel my imagination. **

**Warning: it contains a slight spoiler; if u notice. **

**A/N: Because I made a little mistake when first I posted this story, it appeared as the 1st chapter of a series. So I decide to delete & re-post it to prevent further misunderstanding, even tough it costs me 3 wonderful & encouraging reviews (Million thanks to Saseke1993, desolate butterly, and PunkKoneko for your reviews!!). I've made some corrections here & there without change the story itself.**

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Road to ANBU

"You're going to take the jounin exam next month."

Nara Shikamaru recalled the uneasy feeling he felt this noon when a messenger informed him that Godaime wanted him at her office. It was the same weird feeling he felt when she summoned him at a morning years ago and ordered him to gather genins of his choice to take Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha. That mission was a failure. And now, apparently his intuition was once again correct. It couldn't be something good. _Oh god, this is troublesome_, he sighed mentally.

"I'll think about it, Hokage-sama." He said carefully. He really didn't want to make his Hogake angry, she was spooky when she was angry, _and_ she was kinda short temper.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Who said I'm _offering_ you? It's an _order_."

He sighed mentally again. Well, of course he was well aware that it _was_ an order.

Noticing that the genius chuunin in front of her wasn't going to say something, Tsunade added, "You know you should've been jounin long time ago."

"Ah well…. I don't think I want to be jounin." Inside, he was wondering if he could get away from this. But he doubted it. It was _Tsunade-sama_ he was dealing with.

"Asume would want to see you as a jounin."

He frowned at the mentioning of his former sensei. And a brief silent fell upon them.

"It's unfair bringing-up Asuma-sensei's name here, Hokage-sama." he said flatly.

Tsunade gave him an apologizing smile. "You're right. But, that's not the point. The point is Konoha needs you as a jounin." She looked the young man in front of him with full attention, making sure that he grasped what she meant. "Got it?"

He nodded. Well, he knew this would happen one day, anyway. Even tough he didn't want it.

"Good. You may dismiss."

He nodded once again and left her office, hands inside his pockets. _Oh man, this _is_ going to be really troublesome_, he thought in his walk out of Hokage Tower.

So, after being chuunin for about 4 years, the Konoha's laziest shinobi became a jounin.

In a morning of his second year as jounin, Tsunade summoned him at her office. And he felt the same uneasy feeling again. He frowned in anticipation.

"I'm promoting you to ANBU squad."

He stared at her blankly. Surprised. "ANBU ?!?!" Tsunade didn't say anything but leaned on her chair. He sighed. "I don't think I have other option, do I?"

"Well, I'm not gonna force you to join ANBU if you don't want to."

Something in her voice made Shikamaru raised an eyebrow slightly. _There must be something behind it_, he thought suspiciously.

"So?"

He was unsure. "I rather have it just the way it is now."

"Okay." Tsunade turned away from him, picked up a bundle of files and flipped it through. _It can't be _this_ easy_, he thought. "Come back here in 3 days to pick your genin team's profile." She added with a very relax tone, as if she was saying 'the sky is so blue, today'.

_My **WHAT**_ ?!?! He deeply startled that he didn't even realize that his eyes grew wider and he dropped his jaw.

Sensing his surprise, Tsunade stopped flipping the file in her hand and turned her attention back to the puzzled jounin. "You don't want to join the ANBU. So, instead of it you'll take a gennin team."

"B-but…"

"I don't say you don't have other option. You do have other option."

_Like it would make any difference!_ He cursed in his head.

Tsunade raised a brow, silently asking 'So?'.

He sighed. _Dammit, it's more troublesome then ever!_ "When should I report to ANBU head quarter?" he reluctantly asked.

_Got you!_ Tsunade smiled. "The day after tomorrow." She picked a scroll and handed it over to Shikamaru, his assignment letter. "Bring this with you."

He stepped forward and toke it from her hand. He gave it a glance at it before shoved it into one of his green jounin vest pockets.

"You may dismiss."

He nodded, and then walked out of the office, not seeing the big grin on Tsunade's un-aging face.

Even tough he later became one of the best ANBUs Konoha ever had, he was still the laziest ninja of Konoha.

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So, do you notice the spoiler I'm talking about? **

**It's actually my second Naruto fic, but it's the first time I post a fic here. Considering how amateur I am, I would very appreciate any form reviews. **


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